Are you doing what you want, or are you doing only what you are told to do?
This actually can match, you just want to make sure that whatever your plan is telling you to do is actually enough for what you want to do.
Okay, I think I should get a little bit more specific. Athletes usually follow a training plan. Some athletes take this plan as a loose recommendation, which can actually have a different outcome than the plan is aiming for. About that, I wrote already in What Are You Getting Out of your Session. Other athletes want to have the plan as detailed as possible and just want to follow it without the need to put any thought into this process - and of course, there is everzthing in-between.
Yes, it is nice and convenient to know exactly what needs to be done at any minute and athletes often expect a plan is covering all of that. I agree with that for the main training sessions, but athletes are not just athletes when they start practice until they leave practice or are done with the session.
Very often, invisible things are standing on the training plan as well. Something like
- stretching
- physiotherapy
- individual exercises an athlete should do because of an injury or disbalance
In my sport Biathlon, one of those not written down but necessary sessions was dry fire (holding the rifle or shooting but without any ammunition). If you want to do any of that, you don´t need to be told to do so all the time.
When something which is usually part of the process necessary to succeed in sport but not written down on the plan, the chance that it´s expected it is done, even if it´s not specifically mentioned, is pretty high.
I like to have a clean and clear training plan, not cluttered with all the things that come without saying. In this way, it is much easier to get a good overview and to see what the main session or sessions of the day, week and block are looking like and aiming for.
Filling in the every day repeating needs, like stretching or mobility, can either become a good habit, or if an athlete has the feeling it needs to be written down on the plan, it can be filled in by the athlete itself. Whatever works better for you - the habit or the extra fill-out - falls under the topic of taking ownership, like I wrote about here and here.
If you know what you want to do, you don´t need to constantly be told to stretch. On your training plan is also not standing what you need to eat, that you should not forget your water bottle, that you need to sleep enought and the list goes on.
The next time you take a look on your plan, which might be today, try to see all the invisible action items necessary to get to your goal. And remember: never blame the plan for not doing it - it´s up to you!
Do you have a Dream? Keep going towards it :)
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